Health, Knowledge, & Wisdom

It goes with out saying that cheese can be oh so delicious! Cheese is the main ingredient in so many of today's common food: pizza, cheese crackers, grilled cheese, many pastas, and even mexican american burritos! It's a food which most people keep in constant supply. But it's not found in Traditional Chinese Cuisine; why is that? In Traditional Chinese Medicine all foods are assigned a temperature and certain qualities. For example, garlic has a hot temperature and mint tea has a cool temperature. The quality of cheese is cold and tonifying. Think about it, cheese comes from milk and milk is made for babies to grow at rapid speeds. Cheese is a potent nourishing food which promotes growth in all who eat it. When normal and healthy adults eat cheese, it creates excess. This can be seen in a variety of ways.

Cheese nourishes growth, and normal adults don't need the fat and caloric intake that a baby or a child does. The end result could lead to weight gain. Obesity is not uncommon in American culture. In fact, as the American diet spreads around the world through fast food chains, Chinese and Japanese children are becoming more and more obese. As you know, their traditional food doesn't include cheese. Have you ever been served cheese at a chinese restaurant or a sushi bar? Could it be that the introduction of cheese has created an increase in obesity in their populations?

Mucus can be another symptom of adults eating cheese. Cheese is a damp food according to Traditional Chinese Medicine. Imagine what happens in damp environments; the constant moisture allows bacteria and fungus to grow. Cheese creates our internal bodies to become cold and damp. Excess moisture creates excess mucus, which can lead to chronic sinus infections. In other parts of the body, dampness can lead to fungal infections too. And if the excess damp in the body isn't cared for through a Chinese Herbal Formula and life style changes, it has the potential to grow into a hard lump in the body. Dampness stagnates the flow of blood and qi in the body. Without any movement, the dampness can turn into a tumor or a cyst.

We all know that cheese is high in fat. And did you know that toxins are stored in the fat of animals and human alike? So if you're not eating high quality antibiotic free and grass feed animal cheese, you're absorbing condensed toxins which the animal was exposed to during it's lifetime. This includes hormones, pesticides from their low grade food, and antibiotics. Our skin is one of our detoxification pathways. When our body becomes overloaded with toxins, the body expels them through the skin. And thus, acne develops.

So experiment with your cuisine. Explore food which include veggies, high quality protein, whole grains, and fats high in Omega 3's. Be Beautiful; Eat Beautiful!Wishing you Optimal Wellness!

Playing an instrument takes a lot of skill and coordination. A certain posture is needed and select muscles are used. For those who play music often, this constant motion can lead to Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). The muscles often used to play an instrument can constrict the blood flow and the nerve bundles in the arms, decreasing finger strength. Joints can become inflamed and painful.

In fact, RSI can happen with any job where the same movements are made continuously. Desk jobs are a perfect example. Having to sit and work on a computer all day can definitely create stress within certain joints in the arms, neck, back, and legs. Cortisone shots and other pain killer medications only mask the problem. It would be best to treat the problem at it's source, by releasing tense muscles and opening the passage ways of the arteries, veins, and nerves.

This was the case for Rick Flores, Classical Guitar teacher and performer. Through out his life he would practice guitar for 8 hours a day and give performances that could last for 4 hours straight. From such dedication, he not only developed a grand musical talent, but also arm pain and loss of finger strength. For 20 years he's had to adjust to his arm pain and finger weakness; no longer able to play for as long a period of time.

However, recently he has been receiving treatments from me, at Fremont Acupuncture, and his condition has been improving. In one session his shoulder pain of 15 years resolved and in 2 sessions his finger strength has increased. He's been using finger playing techniques which he thought he could no longer do! He is an example of an Unstoppable Musician, which is Fremont Acupuncture's specialty.

Being a musician myself, I understand the heart ache one feels when the body goes into pain and says, "STOP! You can't play music anymore! There's something wrong!" When that happens, it's best to make an appointment to get fixed as quickly as possible, so you can get back to doing the things you love and creating the melodies and art which give society and life color and culture.

Wishing You Optimal Wellness!!!

All of us have experienced cancer through somebody we know, or even first hand. According to the American Cancer Society, there were over 12 million people with cancer in 2009. It's the 2nd leading cause of death in the United States. Treatment can include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation; all of which not only kills cancer cells, but also healthy cells in the body, sometimes creating life long symptoms. However, there's some good news too! The side effects of cancer treatment can be alleviated with Chinese Herbs and Acupuncture. The National Institute of health says that studies have shown Traditional Chinese Herbs and Acupuncture to help alleviate the symptoms of cancer treatment such as: fatigue, nausea, vomiting, pain, anxiety, and insomnia. In fact, Chinese Acupuncture and Herbs has become a hot research subject. Over 1000 studies have be conducted on the effectiveness of Chinese Medicine to alleviate cancer symptoms and cancer treatment side effects, and with positive results!

In the article: Can Chinese Herbal Medicine Treat Cancer? The Research Says Yes, Case Adams PHD mentions that 70% of cancer patients showed increased survival rates, 38% showed reduced tumor size, and 92% of patients reported cancer symptom relief! The research has proven Chinese Medicine to be so helpful that many insurance companies are now covering acupuncture to supplement cancer treatment and pain! If you are about to receive treatment for cancer, I would suggest you schedule with Fremont Acupuncture, or your local Acupuncturist at least one month before treatment. They can help you build your body's strength in order to prepare for the powerful procedure of radiation, chemo, or surgery. Then they can help you to recover quickly and minimize or prevent the long term side effects which many cancer survivors unfortunately inherit after cancer treatment.

The ancient Chinese observed the patterns of nature to achieve greater understanding. Modern science dissects nature in order to better understand it. But both ancient China and modern science used the scientific method of observation, hypothesis, and trial and error through experimentation. The theory of Yin and Yang, which dates back as long ago as the I Ching, is the theory of complimentary opposites, and of relativity; which is seen through out nature and within the human being.

There are many different forms of the Yin and Yang symbol, but the underlying principles remain the same:

Yin and Yang are dynamic and in constant motion

This is why the symbol looks as though the opposites are moving. It explains why it never stays night forever. The sun will rise again.

One cannot exist without the other

Nothing can exist without there being an opposite. We are only happy because we know sadness. Health exists due to sickness.

Yin and Yang are both mutually consuming

When Yin is weak, Yang will take over. Similar to a desert. The water is yin, and scarce. And so the land become dry and very Yang, making up for the weak yin of the land. Our bodies act the same way. For example, in menopausal women the hormone estrogen, which is yin, becomes scarce. This leads to hot flashes, which are very yang in nature.

Yin and Yang transform into the other

The Yang of day turns into Yin of night. The Yin of sleep turns into the Yang of awakened consciousness. And since the human body is a living organism of nature, it's important to regulate your sleep patterns to the natural order of the planet we live on. Be Yin when nature is yin; sleep before 11pm and don't expose yourself to bright lights or screens once the sun has set. The body secretes certain hormones only after dark, such as melatonin; a powerful sleep aid and antioxidant. Also, be Yang when nature is Yang. Wake up once the sun has risen. This will help regulate your adrenal hormones to help you wake up full of energy in the morning.

There is always Yang within Yin, and Yin within Yang

This is why you see the small dot of the opposite within the Yin and Yang side of the symbol. A good example is: "It's always coldest before the dawn." This is because the sun's warmth begins to reach over the horizon, evaporating the condensation of dew created during the night. Evaporation is a process of cooling, and so the temperature decreases. Cold is Yin, and in the coldest moment of night there is just the smallest amount of the sun's warmth, the Yang.

Yin and Yang are relative

Up is relative to down, just as time is relative to speed. Yin is relative to Yang depending on the situation. Which leads to the next principle...

There is no Yin or Yang

Those things which we believe to exist, only exsist due to the nature of opposites, or duality.Yet, before there was Yin and Yang, there was Taiji, the great ultimate of being. Taiji is the exact same thing as Wuji, the ultimate of non-being. To the left you will see part of an ancient Taoist diagram with a large red circle; this circle represents being and non-being.In other words, oneness or non-duality.When the Taiji and Wuji began moving, it created Yin and Yang; the nature of opposites.As you can see the second circle down shows a Yin and Yang symbol represented by black and white in equal proportions. Yet, there remains a small red circle in the center between Yin and Yang. This is because Yin and Yang are the same; they are both taiji and wuji, being and non-being; they are both created by oneness.

At Fremont Acupuncture, we balance the Yin and Yang within the body using acupuncture, herbs, and life style recommendations. I'm here to teach you to live a healthy life style, while correcting the imbalance your body may already have suffered: emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

Wishing you the Best in Health!And remember to live in harmony with the patterns of the natural world!

Garlic has been used for thousands of years to improve health and performance. The armies of ancient Rome, the Egyptian laborers, and the Olympian athletes of ancient Greeks all used garlic to increase strength and endurance. Hippocrates used garlic as a cleansing agent and for abdominal and uterine growths. The chief physician of Nero's Roman army, said that it cleans the arteries, which science has shown to be true! In fact,most studies done on garlic proves it lowers high blood pressure and reduceshigh cholesterol levels! Its amazing to learn just how accurate ancient medicine was! Traditional Chinese Medicine, is no different. It also uses garlic as a medicinal herb.

Garlic or xie bai, as it's called in Chinese, also is used for cardiovascular health. According to the Materia Medica of Chinese Herbal Medicine: it unblocks Yang Qi in the chest, disperses turbid phlegm stagnation, and warms the chest. Let me translate the poetry of Traditional Chinese Medicine:

Yang Qi in the chest, is the force behind the circulation of blood and oxygen; the functional force of the heart and lung. Garlic unblocks the circulation of blood flow.

Turbid Phlegm, in this case, is the cholesterol clogging the arteries. Garlic disperses fatty plaque buildup in the arteries.

More people have heart attacks inwinter than during any other time. A study on rats showed that cold temperatures increased LDL cholesterol and fatty plagues, giving rise tothe possibility of heart attack and stroke. Garlic or xie bai, warms the chest, to help maintain the flow of blood and oxygen.

Garlic is full of antioxidants too! It's a great medicine and food, not only for high blood pressure and cholesterol, but also for the prevention of cancer! You can increase the number of antioxidant compounds by cutting it up and letting it sit for a few minutes before eating it. The chopped up garlic, which is still alive, begins to regenerate its antioxidant compounds as it attempts to grow and heal itself. You'll be able to cook it and maintain more of it's medicinal qualities with this method. Plus, there are so many delicious ways to eat garlic too! Slice it into thin pieces and add it to a sandwich or wrap. Make garlic wine; especially good for the common cold. Or just, dice it up and swallow the garlic raw with your meal. The less you cook your garlic, the greater its health benefits!

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About The Authors

Dr. Reyna Ambrose L.Ac,has always had an interest in natural healing and has studied various forms of alternative medicine for over ten years. She holds a Doctorate degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine and she continues to study every day. She is dedicated to facilitating patients rediscover their health potential.